VK want their own cryptocurrency. Is it possible in Russia?

VKontakte (also known as “VK”), which is Russia’s version of Facebook, is planning to issue its own cryptocurrency. The project is currently under development, but a final decision has not yet been made. The social media firm wants to create a cryptocurrency that all its users can implement, according to Russian news website RNS. VKontakte claims it has 97 million active monthly users.

If VKontakte is successful in rolling out its own cryptocurrency, users will be able to earn crypto for sharing interesting posts and accumulating “likes.” They can also use the digital currency to buy and sell goods to each other and to transfer funds using VK Pay. VK Pay is the cashless money transfer system that VKontakte launched in June 2018.

However, it’s unclear how VKontakte’s cryptocurrency would be received in Russia, which has a lukewarm attitude toward virtual currencies. As CCN reported, Russian president Vladimir Putin is a bitcoin skeptic, although he has warmed up to crypto a bit. Putin recently set a July 2019 deadline for crypto regulations to be established in Russia. However, it’s questionable whether these rules will be rolled out this year since this initiative was previously delayed.